How to Select a Good Watermelon

How often have you picked up a watermelon and hoped for good luck? Everyone has picked a watermelon that is either too ripe or not ripe enough. Choosing a watermelon doesn’t have to feel like playing the good produce lottery. You can confidently select the perfect watermelon every time.

Things You'll Need

• Watermelon

Instructions

1. Remember that what’s inside is more important than what is outside. The yellow spots that appear on watermelon aren’t rot or bruises. Yellow spots on watermelon are due to the fact that more often than not the growing melon lived its life sitting in chemically treated soil. The soil tends to stain the watermelon, much the same as your knees and elbows tend to be discolored and tougher than other parts of your body. Brown lacerations are nothing to be concerned about. The dried laceration on a watermelon serves much like scabs on your body. They protect what’s inside. Since the inside is the only part you eat, scabs are nothing to shy away from when selecting a watermelon.

2. For some fruits, such as avocados, tomatoes, and peaches, your sense of touch comes into play. Look for a piece of fruit that has some give, but that isn’t to hard or too mushy. With watermelon, however, while you certainly don’t want to select a mushy one, touch just won’t serve. The thick skin on a watermelon acts like a shell that makes the touch test ineffective. Instead, you will use your ears to sense the perfect watermelon.

3. To pick the perfect watermelon, select one that seems to be the right size for your needs. Then hold it with one hand to a point about 2 inches from your ear. Tone is important, so make sure that you don’t rest the watermelon against your head. Once the watermelon is positioned near your ear, use your free hand to thump the watermelon. The sound will either be solid, like thumping a piece of wood, hollow like tapping a 5-gallon water jug, or thick like tapping a water balloon.

4. When you have determined which of the three sounds you hear when thumping, you will have the information you need about the meat inside of the watermelon. If it is not ripe enough, it will sound solid. If it is too ripe, it will sound thick. The perfect watermelon is the one that resonates hollow. Thump as many as you need to find the right one.

Tips & Warnings

• Choosing a watermelon doesn’t have to be a low stakes lottery. You can win every time. As a side note, other melons such as honeydew and cantaloupe can be selected confidently using these same easy steps.

• Remember that watermelon ripens over time, even off of the vine. Therefore, when you have found the perfect watermelon make sure you serve it within a day or two of buying it.